MIFFLINBURG—The former secretary of a Centre County township who recently was sentenced to state prison for stealing more than $500,000 has been charged with the theft of $50,095 from an American Legion post where she was treasurer/bookkeeper.
Pamela D. Hackenburg, 56, of Millmont, was charged Monday by Mifflinburg police with theft, receiving stolen property, tampering with records, access device fraud and misapplication of entrusted property.
Bail was set at $10,000 which was moot because on Sept. 16 in Centre County, she was sentenced to two to four years in state prison and ordered to pay $615,580 to Gregg Twp. where she was secretary-treasurer from 2019 to 2024.
When she pleaded guilty in July to theft, identity theft and access device fraud charges, she admitted stealing $532,747 from the township of about 2,200 residents. She said she used the money for sports betting, trips and personal purchases.
The new charges say Hackenburg admitted to Mifflinburg police she stole from the American Legion in the borough to support her gambling addiction. The following is taken from the police affidavit:
Hackenburg volunteered to serve as the legion’s secretary-treasurer without pay in September 2023.
When she assumed the position, she claimed the books were disorganized and filed a report with borough police raising suspicions of missing money.
She provided her own financial reports at board meetings, often showing accounts were in order, but never produced actual bank statements.
Members learned last year Hackenburg had written checks for more than $100 to the legion from a joint account she shared with her daughter.
The personal checks were to cover cash she had removed from nightly deposits, police said.
But the checks were returned for insufficient funds, resulting in the legion incurring bank fees. She failed to address notices sent to her by the bank.
The legion suspended Hackenburg in August 2024 and she resigned at last September’s board meeting when additional theft allegations surfaced.
Following her resignation, board members discovered she failed to pay $10,000 in federal taxes that jeopardized the legion’s tax-exempt status and resulted in fines.
She also had not renewed the small games of chance license leading to additional penalties.
In addition, skills games money was unaccounted for and small amounts of undocumented cash were found in various locations. Deposit receipts and other financial documents could not be found.
The legion was left with little money causing it to rely on loans from members to continue operating.
An accounting firm conducted an audit covering the period from Sept. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31 last year that determined Hackenburg had stolen money on at least 42 occasions totaling $50,095 and that she made unauthorized payments from the legion‘s bank account to Amazon Audible.
When police interviewed her Sept. 12, they say she admitted taking the money but disputed the amount.
Based on its investigation, police said it was determined Hackenburg initially used personal checks to make deposits consistent with register printouts but she later abandoned that practice and reduced the deposit amounts.
Evidence shows she remotely accessed programs on the legion’s computer after her resignation because she had password changes sent to her phone for approval, they said.
